How Self-driving Vehicles Could Change New York City as We Know it

Featured article by Jeremy Sutter, Independent Technology Author

Cars have been a fixture in New York City since they were available to be used by the general public. Traffic jams, taxi drivers, bus drivers and the many different types of verbal exchanges between drivers define driving in the city. The latest technology to make its way to New York, and around the country, are autonomous vehicles or self-driving cars. Many wonder if this technology will change things in a city the size of New York that has a history with every type of vehicle driven.

Policy

The National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) recently release its policy regarding self-driving vehicles. According to the Village Voice, New York City’s Department of Transportation (DOT) is a vocal critic of these policies. The reason is there does not seem to be any part of the policy that covers the distinct issues of a large city and especially one the size of New York. There is a concern the specific issues the city must confront concerning this new technology has not been properly addressed. The DOT is working with the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) to provide comments and questions to the NHTSA concerning their self-driving vehicle policy.

City Challenges

In a city such as New York, with tight spaces and challenging traffic patterns, successfully developing the use of autonomous vehicles will not be easy. Could a vehicle be designed to easily deal with the twisting streets found in the Village as well as the Financial District? Many experts agree these vehicles will initially need to be able to quickly switch into manual control. They will still need human supervision when being driven. According to an MIT mechanical engineering professor, interacting with humans inside and outside a vehicle is a serious issue when it comes to creating artificial intelligence for self-driving vehicles. They will need to be able to work in any type of situation or environment.

Complex Street Systems

Transportation experts agree that New York City has some of the most complicated street systems found in North America. According to CNET, the New York DOT believes if they don’t have adequate regulations in place for the use of autonomous vehicles, it could cause the city to experience even more serious gridlock and traffic congestion. There is also a concern for the possibility of ghost vehicles. These would be autonomous vehicles that drive around the city in an effort to avoid paying for parking. New York City currently takes in hundreds of millions of dollars from parking tickets each year. There are also a number of taxi drivers who are worried about how self-driving vehicles will impact their work.

Legal Issues

The testing, funding, and refinement continue with autonomous vehicle technology. The anticipated safety, as well as legal issues, increase. How will self-driving vehicles affect Car Insurance in New York? What laws should be created to protect the public when using autonomous vehicles? Most legal experts agree there will be a lengthy transition period. Legislators will need to figure out how to handle human driven vehicles and autonomous vehicle interacting on the street.

Public Transportation Questions

Many members of New York’s DOT are trying to understand how self-driving vehicles will affect public transportation. Will it decrease ridership on buses and subways and drastically increase vehicle traffic? Could this result in more people living outside New York City and preferring to commute? Will autonomous buses become commonplace? DOT officials agree that in order to have a safe transition into permitting self-driving vehicles, the public transportation issues will need to be addressed.

Not Alone

Many cities around the world are going to struggle with this new technology. It is difficult to apply the same driving regulations in all 50 states. Each state believes it knows what regulations are best for its citizens. The goal of the federal government is to create a number of acceptable regulations that will be agreeable to all states. Regulations that will enhance self-driving vehicle technology while not putting people at risk.